Schumer: Belden promises to keep 774 employees on the job at PPC in DeWitt

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer meets with employees in January at Nucor, the steel plant outside of Auburn in Cayuga County. Today Schumer said he received a commitment from the new owner of PPC in DeWitt to keep the local workforce at the plant. Peter Chen / The Post-Standard

Washington -- The new owner of PPC in DeWitt, which makes components for the cable and telephone industries, will keep the company’s 774 employees on the job in Central New York, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said today.

Schumer, D-N.Y. said he secured a commitment today to keep the local workers from the chief executive of Belden Inc., of St. Louis, which bought PPC this month for $515.7 million.

Schumer said he spoke by telephone this morning with Belden President and CEO John Stroup to discuss what will happen as Belden begins to integrate with PPC, formerly known as Production Products Company.

“I am pleased that Belden’s CEO has committed to keep all 774 dedicated workers at Production Products Company on the job in Central New York, which will in turn keep Belden connected to a top-notch manufacturing workforce,” Schumer said in a statement.

Schumer said he “wanted to be sure that these employees would continue to produce top-of-the-line cable and telephone parts right here in Central New York, and foster the growth of Belden’s cable manufacturing business for years to come.”

When Belden and PPC announced the sale last week, a spokesman for Belden said it was too soon to say what would happen to PPC’s production or jobs.

PPC says it has secured more than 400 patents since its humble beginnings in a residential basement during World War II.